Little Elk Creek

Looking west across the Little Elk Creek from the front porch of the Hollingsworth House. This section of the creek was lined with wooden wharfs, according to the Frenchman's Map, drawn of The Landing in September, 1781 as American and French troops embarked on their journey to Yorktown, Virginia.

Little Elk Creek

Now a quiet, tranquil scene, this area of the Little Elk Creek between the Hollingsworth House and the Stone Building during Colonial Times up until 1820 was once the scene of busy cargo traffic moving from north to south and vice versa giving the area its modern day nickname, the "I-95 of Colonial America." It is also where part of Generals Cornwallis and Howe's British regiments landed in 1777 on their way to capture Philadelphia.

Little Elk Creek

Looking south from the Hollingsworth House and east of the Stone Building, we peer into the heart of what is believed to be Fort Hollingsworth, right where the tree line is today. Composed of earthworks, the fort was built in 1813 and its 200 or so Cecil Militiamen successfully defended Elkton from British attack not once, but twice during the spring and summer of 1813.

Little Elk Creek

Dense woods now conceal the location of Fort Hollingsworth. Could the drop off of the land just beyond those trees be the remnants of the fort's earthen walls? Only extensive archeological work will tell us for sure.

Little Elk Creek

Open fields now lead to a tree line and a wooded setting that was once marsh land 2 hundred years ago. What secrets do those marsh lands beyond the trees hold that could unlock some of the mysteries of how this land was used over the centuries?

Little Elk Creek

This may look like s gentle pasture today, but archeology tells us a lot more was going on here 2 centuries ago. Test pits dug in this field revealed a concentration of artifacts that left our archeologists puzzled. How did these artifacts get here? Were they left by residents of slave quarters that may have dotted the landscape? Or were they there simple because this is a low point in the land and they collected here naturally from higher ground?

Little Elk Creek

A group of trees shield an inviting picnic area today on this land to the east of the Stone Building. But just beyond those trees are an expanse of fields that have been under plow for over 2 hundred years, resulting in hearty harvests that helped feed, not only the local population, but George Washington's army when it camped at Valley Forge and other times during the American Revolutionary War.

Little Elk Creek

This modern shed to the east of the Hollingsworth House is built on the foundations and back wall of a much earlier shed, constructed, it is believed, 2 centuries ago from rocks quarried at local quarries.

Little Elk Creek

The Hollingsworth House brings us full circle in our tour of the Historic Elk Landing grounds. Built around 1800, this Greek revival structure was reconstructed and expanded following a fire that gutted the west end of the original house in 1848. More about this historic structure is located at the Hollingsworth House section of this Photos page.